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Remote/Mobile GPRS Snapshot Camera
sentinel IV
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Colorado Video’s
sentinel IV GPRS camera enables you to get pictures from remote
locations with maximum ease. Its simple installation makes it ideal for
monitoring temporary or distant sites or mobile assets. The sentinel IV
is well suited for monitoring current pictures from mobile assets such
as ferryboats, dredges, busses, railcars, and trucks. The sentinel IV
can keep web pages fresh by providing continuously updated JPG images
to your server for your web surfing audience to view.
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applications
Monitoring remote
locations can seem like an insurmountable task. Areas without Internet
connectivity, telephone or electric service have previously been
considered inaccessible with traditional monitoring techniques. With
the widespread deployment of cellular phone networks with Internet
connectivity, viewing these areas is now possible. The GSM cellular
network has recently become established in the United States. Along
with the familiar voice service, this network also incorporates a data
path directly to the Internet. This pathway, called General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS), provides access to the Internet from anywhere
within the broad cellular coverage area.
Coupling a
battery-operated design with GPRS connectivity in a weatherproof case,
the sentinel IV camera from Colorado Video is an ideal solution for
many monitoring and security situations. Once configured and installed,
the camera can place snapshot images of remote locations on a desktop
computer. The camera can be easily interfaced to door and gate switches
as well as motion detectors, and can transmit images on a scheduled and
event-driven basis. These images are accessible both as an email
attachment and via automatic downloading from an FTP server. Images can
be permanently archived on the server or the user's computer. Real time
notification of camera activation can occur either through a custom
desktop application or via personal email.
No external power,
no phone lines, no computer, and no wired Internet access, is required.
With the appropriate cellular service and an sentinel IV camera, you
can receive snapshot images along with real-time notification from
remote areas. This camera provides an ideal solution for remote site
monitoring, event promotion, and unique security problems. The best way
to understand the capabilities of the sentinel IV is to consider a few
of the many potential applications.
Geology and Forestry
| Geologists,
Forest Service personnel or land managers often wish to monitor natural
hazards at remote locations. Areas of interest at such sites may
include stream levels and associated flooding, landslides, or snow pack
at mountain passes. The sentinel IV provides an ideal solution for this
situation. The camera can be configured to turn on daily, take a
picture and send it with an email anywhere on the Internet. Once
installed, the sentinel IV can deliver daily images unattended for up
to a year on a single set of batteries.
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Special Events and Resorts
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The sentinel IV camera can be used for the promotion of special events.
The lack of required cabling and quick setup makes it an attractive
solution for both indoor and outdoor activities. A corporate awards
ceremony held at a mountain resort provides a perfect example. The
sentinel IV can be setup to periodically capture images of the event
and place them on the corporate web server. Web pages that link to
these pictures are easily constructed. Employees, relatives, or anyone
not in attendance, will still be able to view images of the
proceedings. If AC power is available, the camera can be configured in
continuous mode and the pictures will be updated every few minutes all
day long, otherwise a single set of batteries can provide hundreds of
images over the course of the day. Multiple cameras will provide
complete coverage of the event. All that is required for the easy
promotion of special events is appropriate cellular coverage and the
sentinel IV camera.
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Oil & Gas Production
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Oil and gas drilling in remote locations provides a unique set of
security problems. In addition to the landowner, multiple persons have
access to the area. Employees of the drilling company and its
subcontractors may come and go on a daily basis without any accounting
of their activities. Theft or vandalism may not be a primary concern,
however a visual record of persons and vehicles entering and leaving
the gated property is desirable. When properly configured, a switch on
the gate will trigger the sentinel IV to turn on, take a picture of the
area, and turn off. The picture is immediately transmitted to an FTP
server. The image can remain on the server or be downloaded via a
utility for viewing or archiving on a desktop computer. Additionally,
configuring the camera for a scheduled email with image attachment can
provide assurance that the gate has been left closed at the end of the
day. Using the internal battery pack, hundreds of accesses to the
property can be recorded. Using an external solar panel and battery
combination the unit will work indefinitely without service. The
availability of interchangeable lenses from wide-angle to telephoto,
insure that the camera can be located in an appropriate location yet
still provide an acceptable view.
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Temporary Surveillance
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freedom from required cabling and ease of installation makes the
sentinel IV a convenient tool in the security consultant's repertoire
even for non-remote applications. For the situation where the permanent
installation of a wired CCTV system is not appropriate, the sentinel IV
can provide a quick and easy solution. A retail store experiencing
periodic after-hours theft provides such an example. An employee is
suspected of returning at night, and either entering the store to
steal, or retrieving merchandise hidden behind the store during the
day. This situation can be difficult and expensive to deal with using
conventional security monitoring. An sentinel IV can be temporarily
installed along with a door switch or motion detector to cover the area
of interest. The camera can generate a signal to control external
lighting if nighttime images are required. Once triggered, the image is
sent to an FTP server and can be immediately downloaded via a custom
desktop application. If the computer is being monitored, the user is
notified of the event. Configuring the sentinel IV to generate a pager
alert via an email message is another method that will provide instant
notification that the event has occurred. Not only will there be a
visual record of the incident, but due to real time notification, an
appropriate response by security personnel can be undertaken. Once the
situation is resolved the sentinel IV is easily removed for service
elsewhere
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Construction Site Monitoring
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sentinel IV offers a sensible means to visually monitor construction sites on a continuous basis.
Simply mount the camera in a location suitable for acquiring the pictures you require.
Keep a watch over work progress and valuable equipment.
sentinel is easily moved as construction progresses and your visual monitoring needs change.
sentinel can easily move with you as you complete jobs and start new ones.
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Ferryboats, Dredges and other Marine Craft
sentinel IV is ideal for installation on boats because it uses wireless
service that covers an extended region, as much as 40 miles out to sea!
Simply position sentinel in a location suitable for acquiring the
pictures you require from your vessel.
sentinel can help you monitor dredging progress.
Law Enforcement
sentinel can help you watch for graffati, vandalism, marijuana cultivation, and trespassing incidents.
Law Enforcement organizations use sentinel to "stakeout" remote sites.
Aviation
Aircraft are
valuable assets, frequently left unattended at General Aviation
airports. sentinel can help you keep an eye on your airplane. sentinel
can also supply pilots making a difficult go/no-go decision with a
helpful picture of the current weather conditions at a distant airport.
Pipelines
Frequently, pipelines are located where wiring for conventional video cameras isn't practical.
sentinel can let you view a pipeline where you otherwise might not be able to.
Gain Peace of Mind
View remote assets
such as vacation homes, aircraft, oil wells, utility infrastructure, or
parking facilities with sentinel IV. An external event, such as motion,
can trigger sentinel IV to snap and send pictures to your server or it
can send snapshots on a scheduled basis.
Viewing Pictures using Your Computer
There are many ways
to view pictures after sentinel IV has automatically uplaoded them to
an FTP server. Included with sentinel IV is FTP client software that
automatically checks the FTP server for new pictures from up to four
cameras simultaneously at user selected time intervals.
You may download Colorado Video's FTPJPGReader software now and try it by following these instructions.
A browser, like the one your using now, may also be used to view pictures.
For instance, just type "ftp://www.colorado-video.com/incoming/" into your browser's address bar to see a list of files on Colorado Video's FTP server.
Click on a ".jpg" to view it.
If you're using the Opera browser, you can set it to automatically update the picture periodically.
Simply click "Navigation" then "Reload Every" and then select your desired update time interval.
Opera has a great feature here because it can be used to update any web page automatically at any time interval you desire.
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PO Box 928 Boulder, CO 80306 USA Tel +1-303-530-9580 sales@colorado-video.com Fax +1-303-530-9569 www.colorado-video.com
Business Hours: 9AM to 4PM Mountain Time (GMT-7 Winter, GMT-6 Summer), excluding weekends & holidays.
Copyright 2004Embedded Systems Inc. sentinel-IV and sentinel IV are Trademarks of Embedded Systems Inc.
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